Time flowed quietly through the vast starry sky of the Great Thousand World, like a rushing river.
Many years had passed since the battle with the Ice Spirit Clan.
In those years, the balance of power across the Great Thousand World had changed beyond recognition.
In the far north, the Endless Fire Domain's territory had grown ever wider. Countless fire cultivators gathered there, while a steady stream of exquisite pills flowed to the great supercontinents. The names of the Flame Emperor and the Heavenly Emperor stood at their zenith.
In the far south, the Martial Realm had risen with equally unstoppable force. With Lin Dong, the Martial Ancestor, at its heart, it had carved out an unassailable domain in the Southern Region through his mysterious Rune Arrays and peerless martial prowess.
North and south, the two powers founded by ascenders from Lower Planes shone like the brightest new stars. Their radiance even eclipsed that of many ancient Primordial God Clans.
Flame Emperor Heavenly Palace, a side hall.
Xiao Yan sat behind a broad desk, leafing through the rosters submitted by the Fire Domain's branches.
Soft footsteps approached.
Medicine Elder entered from outside the hall, holding a jade slip the color of lightning.
"Little Yanzi." Medicine Elder set the slip on the desk.
Xiao Yan stopped writing and looked up.
Faint arcs of black lightning flickered across the slip's surface, carrying a hint of domineering, destructive power.
"What's this?"
"It came from the far south." Medicine Elder sat down in a nearby chair. "Someone from the Martial Realm handed it to one of our outer guards this morning."
Xiao Yan paused.
He reached out, and his fingertip had barely touched the slip when—
Hum!
The slip trembled. A rune formed from lightning drifted out and became the image of an